“That’s good to know.”
Meg decided to turn the tables on Connor. “Enough about me, though. What about you?”
“What about me?” Connor asked.
“You’re not the only one who has questions here. It’s not like I’ve ever dated a werewolf before.”
“Trust me. Being a wolf is not nearly as exciting as it sounds. I’d rather have magical powers.”
“Really?”
“Oh yeah. From what you tell me, being a witch is a gift. Meanwhile, being a werewolf is a curse.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way.”
“It isn’t just a feeling. It’s a fact of life,” Connor said. “You get to do all sorts of cool things. Meanwhile, during a full moon, I turn into a mindless beast.”
“When you say mindless, does that mean you have no control over your actions at all when you’re in wolf form?”
“None. The wolf part of me completely takes over. My animal instincts kick into high gear. And unfortunately, all the wolf wants to do is feed.”
“Wow. You just painted a really scary picture.”
“It’s horrifying. I mean, if I left the wolf part of me to its own devices, it would maul everything in sight. That’s why I lock myself up in a cage during the nights that there is a full moon. I don’t want to give the wolf a chance to hurt anyone.”
“That’s a smart move.”
“I think so.”
“I didn’t realize being part werewolf was such an unpleasant experience. I would have never guessed that you would dislike it so much.”
“Meg, you don’t understand. It’s more than just a simple dislike. I feel like it’s a curse that I’ve been burdened with.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that,” Meg said. “Does that mean there’s no part of being a werewolf that you enjoy?”
“I absolutely hate being in wolf form. But having wolf genes does have a few advantages.”
“Such as?”
“By nature, wolves are extremely loyal. In fact, they mate for life.”
“That’s nice to hear.”
“In addition, even in human form, I have heightened senses. And really keen instincts.”
“I guess it’s no surprise then that you became a detective.”
“I suppose not.”
“At least there are some good qualities.”
“Not enough for my taste.” Connor lowered his head.
Meg grimaced. “Do you want to talk about something else?”
Connor looked up at Meg. “Actually, I have one more question for you.”
“What is it?”
“Ever since you told me that you have magical powers, I keep wondering one thing. Is there a spell out there than can reverse this curse of mine?”
“Wait a minute. Are you saying what I think you are?”
“Meg, I need to know. Is there a chance that you can suppress the werewolf gene in me forever? Or eliminate it entirely?”
“You’d really want to do that? To go to such extreme measures?”
Connor didn’t hesitate with his response. “Absolutely.”
Meg’s jaw dropped. “Wow.”
“So, please tell me. Do you know of a spell that can do that?” Connor asked.
“Not off the top of my head.”
He became deflated. “Oh.”
“Although, it isn’t something I’ve ever done any research on.”
“Of course not.”
“I’ll tell you what,” Meg said. “If you give me some time, I can look into it.”
“That would be great,” Connor replied.
“In fact, my mother has an old spell book that is filled with all kinds of incantations. Maybe there’s something in there that could help you.”
“I sure hope so.”
“That said, I wouldn’t get your hopes up too much. We’re in uncharted territory here,” Meg replied.
“I realize that. And trust me, I’ll understand if a spell like this doesn’t exist. But I just had to ask,” Connor said.
Chapter Four
It had certainly been an interesting evening. Then again, Meg wouldn’t have expected anything different from Halloween. Even so, when she went to bed, she prayed that the next few days would be far less eventful. Not surprisingly, Meg crashed out pretty quickly.
Before she knew it, morning arrived. When her alarm clock went off, Meg got out of bed immediately. As much as she liked to take a leisurely approach to tackling a day, she didn’t have that luxury right then. A work shift awaited at her family’s bakery, and she couldn’t afford to be late.
Meg threw on her work clothes, ran a brush through her hair, and then darted out to her car. Ten minutes later, she arrived at Enchanted Donuts. Thankfully, the first few hours of Meg’s work shift wasn’t too taxing.
Shortly before nine o’clock, Connor entered the shop. Just as Meg expected, Connor ordered a chocolate-glazed donut.
After taking a bite of his breakfast, Connor remarked, “I know it makes me a cop stereotype, but donuts really are the best way to start a day.”
“To be fair, donuts are pretty delicious,” Meg said.
Connor stared at the donut that was in his hand. “Especially this one.”
“It’s hard to argue with that.”
“Arguing is overrated anyway,” Connor said. “I’d rather enjoy my breakfast.”
“That’s a good call.”
Connor took another bite of his donut. “I have to say, I still don’t know how your grandmother created a recipe this delicious.”
Meg smiled and then said, “It’s a secret.”
Connor replied with a playful tone in his voice. “I thought we weren’t going to keep secrets from each other anymore.”
“True,” Meg said. “I’ll have to tell you about it later, though. It’s not something that I want to talk about in the middle of the shop.”
“Right. Of course,” Connor replied. “You wouldn’t want that secret to become public knowledge.”
Just as Meg was about to respond, she stopped herself. Connor’s focus had suddenly shifted elsewhere. He was staring at the entrance to the donut shop.
Meg looked at the doorway to see what had caused Connor to become so distracted.
A muscular thirty-five-year-old man was making his way toward the counter. He had a full beard and a number of tattoos on his arms.
Meg didn’t recognize the man, but it was pretty clear that Connor did. Naturally, Meg wondered who this man was, and how Connor knew him.
Before Meg could get an answer to either of those questions, the mysterious man did something very peculiar. The moment the man spotted Connor, he stopped dead in his tracks.
That wasn’t all, though. The man then scowled at Connor.
At that point, Meg got a sinking feeling in her stomach. Was a confrontation inevitable? That definitely seemed to be the case.
Imagine Meg’s surprise then when the tattooed man spun around and headed for the door. The man then left the donut shop and didn’t look back.
Meg’s forehead wrinkled as she stared at the entrance to the shop. “That was weird.”
Connor nodded. “It sure was.”
Meg turned her focus to her fiancé. “What was that man’s problem?”
“Me,” Connor replied.
Meg shrugged. “Why?”
“His name is Isaac Forrester. He’s an ex-convict,” Connor said. “I’m the one who put him behind bars.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. Given his criminal past, you can understand why he wasn’t thrilled to run into me.”
“Speaking of his past, what did you arrest him for?”
“Multiple things. Including selling drugs and attempting to assault a police officer.”
Meg winced. “Yikes. That’s brutal. So, he’s not just some small-time criminal then? He has a violent streak in him?”
Connor nodded. “Oh yeah. He’s a dangerous man.”
Meg bit the corner of her lip. “
If he’s so dangerous, then why isn’t he in jail right now?”
“Shortly after his arrest, he cut a plea deal with the district attorney. Isaac gave the D.A. crucial information that put an even bigger drug dealer in jail. In exchange for Isaac’s testimony, the D.A. gave him a lighter sentence. After serving his time, Isaac is now out on parole.”
“Why doesn’t any of this ring a bell to me?”
“This all happened a number of years ago. Before you and I started dating.”
“That makes sense,” Meg said. “I didn’t exactly pay attention to the police blotter back then.”
“No. Why would you?”
Meg looked off into the distance. “Those were simpler times.”
“For you, at least,” Connor said. “Not so much for me. Isaac was actually one of the first arrests that I made after joining the Enchanted Bay Police Department.”
“What a dubious reminder of the past.”
“Very dubious,” Connor said. “It’s pretty crazy to think that some of the first few people that I ever arrested are starting to get out of jail, but in Isaac’s case, the man served his time. Whether I like it or not, he is now a free man.”
“Just because he’s free doesn’t mean that he has stopped being dangerous. Do you think his days of criminal behavior are behind him for good?”
Connor shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess time will tell.”
Meg stared the front door again. “That is pretty wild to think he’s just walking the streets. That you could run into him at any moment.”
“Honestly, in a small town like this, it’s almost inevitable that I’d eventually run into criminals that I have arrested.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
“Thankfully, most of the perpetrators that I have put behind bars are still in prison. There are only a few that are out of the slammer.”
“And this morning, you just had the unfortunate luck of running into one of them.”
“Unfortunate is definitely the right word.”
“Especially since Isaac clearly still holds a grudge against you.”
“He certainly does,” Connor replied. “That said, he didn’t have to be quite so obvious about how much he despises me.”
“No. Then again, criminals aren’t exactly known for subtlety.”
“You can say that again.”
“Even so, I can’t believe how quickly he bolted.”
“Talk about suspicious.”
“It kind of makes you wonder what he’s been up to since he got out of jail.”
“I’m not sure that I want to know the answer to that.”
“After spending a bunch of time in prison, I’d assume that he’d want to behave like a normal person now that he’s out of jail.”
“Maybe the truth is that he isn’t normal. And he never will be.”
Meg took a deep breath. “I hope he hasn’t been starting trouble.”
“If he has, I’m sure I’ll find out about it,” Connor said.
“I don’t doubt that.”
“Anyway, he’s gone now.”
“I’m happy about that,” Meg said.
Connor finished the last bite of his donut. He then looked at his phone. “I should probably be going too. Duty calls.”
“Stay safe out there,” Meg said.
“I’ll do my best.” Connor stared at the display case. “Before I head off to work, though, I’m going to take one more donut for the road.”
“Two donuts in one morning? You must be feeling stressed.”
“I can’t deny that.”
“Did seeing Isaac really get you that worked up?”
“This isn’t about Isaac.”
“What’s it about then?”
“It’s actually pretty fitting that we were just talking about parole,” Connor said.
“Why?”
“Because Josh Gilbertson is being freed from Stockfield State Penitentiary today,” Connor said.
Meg exhaled. “Right. I forgot about that.”
“I haven’t,” Connor said. “In fact, I haven’t stopped thinking about Josh since I heard the news about the parole board voting to free him early due to good behavior.”
Meg shook her head. “I still can’t believe the board made that decision.”
“It’s a real head scratcher, all right.”
“No wonder you are so stressed out. I mean, the man was stealing guns and selling them on the black market. And when you caught him in the act, rather than turning himself in peacefully, he tried to kill you.”
“You don’t have to remind me,” Connor said.
“Sorry. I didn’t bring it up to upset you. I was just pointing out that if there was ever a man who should still be in prison, it’s Josh.”
“I’m right there with you,” Connor said. “But clearly, the parole board disagrees with us.”
“I still don’t know what they were thinking.”
“Based on what I heard, Josh blames most of his illegal behavior on his past drug use. According to what he told the parole board, he has cleaned up his act. In addition to kicking his drug habit, he was also a model prisoner while he was locked up. The entire time he was in jail, he didn’t cause a single problem.”
“Don’t get me wrong. It’s refreshing to hear that he wasn’t involved in any prison riots. At the same time, that doesn’t mean he’s rehabilitated.”
“Trust me. If it was up to me, he’d still be in jail. Unfortunately, I don’t have any say in the matter.”
Meg took a deep breath and then replied, “Since he’s going to be back on the streets soon, let’s hope that he truly has cleaned up his act.”
Connor grimaced. “I’m not going to hold my breath.”
Chapter Five
A few minutes later, Connor headed off to the police station to begin his shift. He wasn’t the only one who had a bunch of work to do, however.
Once Connor left the bakery, business picked up for Meg at the donut shop. Thanks to a brisk morning rush, the store sold over a hundred donuts that morning.
It took a good hour or two for the crowds to finally thin out. When things quieted down, Meg was able to take a few moments to catch her breath.
Just as Meg’s heart rate returned to normal, her mother, Beth Walton, entered the shop. Talk about some amazing timing. Beth always seemed to show up just after the morning rush ended. Was that by design? Or was it just a fortunate happenstance? Whatever the answer was, Meg wished that she had her mother’s timing.
While Meg was busy wrestling with her thoughts, Beth’s carefree mood immediately disappeared when she looked at her daughter. Something about the expression on Meg’s face made Beth concerned.
As someone who had always been short on tact, Beth didn’t bother wasting any time on pleasantries. Instead, she cut straight to the chase.
“You don’t look so good,” Beth said.
Even though Beth had a reputation for being blunt, Meg found herself taken aback by her mother’s candor right then.
Rather than making a big deal of it, Meg decided to reply with a playful tone.
“Good morning to you too, Mom.”
“Sorry for skipping over the small talk. But that look on your face really struck a chord in me. It kicked my motherly instincts into overdrive,” Beth said.
“I guess there’s no hiding my emotions from you,” Meg joked.
“Of course not. I’m your mom. I can always tell when something is going on with you.”
“That is quite a skill.”
Beth didn’t have any interest in being the focal point of this conversation. “Enough about me. What’s going on with you? Did you have a really busy morning?”
“There was a decent-sized rush, but it wasn’t anything crazy. It definitely wasn’t like the crowds that we get during tourist season.”
“In that case, are you worked up about Josh Gilbertson getting out of jail?”
“You hit the nail on the head.”
�
�I’m sorry.” Beth exhaled and continued, “From what I can tell, no one in town is happy about that.”
Meg gave a deadpan reply, “I’ll bet Josh is.”
Beth gritted her teeth. “I meant, other than him. I don’t care about the feelings of a convict.”
“Neither do I,” Meg said. “Anyway, let’s talk about something else. I don’t want to get too bent out of shape about Josh’s impending release from prison.”
“That’s understandable,” Beth said. “What do you want to talk about then?”
“Is anything new with you?”
“As a matter of fact, yes.”
Meg expected her mother to continue talking, but Beth went silent all of a sudden.
“Are you going to make me guess?” Meg asked.
Beth shook her head. “No. It’s just that I hate being the bearer of bad news.”
Meg’s muscles tensed up. “Uh-oh. What’s wrong?”
“After I got off the phone with you last night, I dug out some of my old spell books and started flipping through them.”
“Let me guess. You didn’t find any spells pertaining to werewolves?”
Beth shook her head. “Not a single one.”
Meg winced. “You’re right. That is lousy news. I mean, don’t some of those spell books include over a thousand incantations?”
Beth nodded.
“Considering how comprehensive those books are, you’d assume that there would be at least one reference to werewolves,” Meg said.
“If such a spell exists, that is.”
“Do you believe that Connor is completely out of luck? Is that what you’re trying to tell me?”
“It’s too early to know for sure. But things aren’t looking good.”
Meg lowered her head.
“I know that isn’t the answer that you wanted to hear.”
“You’re right about that.” Meg groaned. “Although, I’m not the only one who is going to be disappointed by that news. Connor isn’t going to be very happy when I relay that information to him.”
“I’m glad you brought that up,” Beth said. “If I were you, I’d hold off on telling him that news.”
Meg shrugged. “Why?”
“Because there’s still more research to be done.”
“Oh,” Meg said. “Does that mean you have some promising leads?”
Halloween Witch Cozy Mystery Ten Book Set Page 62
